In case you happen to think that
electric bikes are a sudden sensation, think again. As this 1996 GT
Charger shows, e-bike technology
has been in the works for some
time. Note the size of the battery
in 1996 to what is being used now.

Now think about what the next 10
years might bring in terms of battery sizes.

E-BIKEEASY RIDER

This e-bike fan chased
us down for a look at the
Haibike Nduro and the
E-Motion Dirt Jumper on
our Thule rack. Chris says
he has 1000 happy street
miles on his Prodeco
Phantom X2, and now he
is interested in something
that is more capable off-road. You can tell by the
light setup that he is a
serious rider. ■

Here’s a spy shot of a new Opti-Bike that features the company’s
proprietary SIMBB technology,
which Opti-Bike founder Jim
Turner claims provides more
power, torque and battery capacity than Bosch-powered bikes. Jim
also said that the American-made
bike will be priced under $5000.